Burn (Elementally Evolved, #1) in The Slash Pile

Feb 21, 2012 Imogen rated it did not like it

I'm a big fan of the author but this book just didn't do it for me. Tonally, it was too ridiculous and absurd. The events and story themselves are monumental and serious, but the characters, their dialogues, and their reaction to events makes everything seem like one big joke.

[some minor spoilers below]
Let me explain with an example... ok, so Felix lives under a fake identity for 15 years to hide the fact that he is a dual Elemental, so that the powers-that-be don't take him away to be experim I'm a big fan of the author but this book just didn't do it for me. Tonally, it was too ridiculous and absurd. The events and story themselves are monumental and serious, but the characters, their dialogues, and their reaction to events makes everything seem like one big joke.

[some minor spoilers below]
Let me explain with an example... ok, so Felix lives under a fake identity for 15 years to hide the fact that he is a dual Elemental, so that the powers-that-be don't take him away to be experimented on. Then out of nowhere he saves a hooker from being raped, and in the fight with her attacker, reveals his powers to a crowd of onlookers. Ok, fine. But then all Felix can say in response to this epic turn of event is a sarcastic "great," then casually makes out with his caveman bf, goes home, wakes up the next day, and goes to work without a care in the world. Really? 15 years of hiding and living a lie to protect something, and yet in the end, when the secrete is exposed, it doesn't even warrant a second thought. He sleeps just fine and wakes up the next day with sex on the mind. So tell me again why or how I'm supposed to care about a character like this? This whole scenario with Felix revealing his powers could have worked if the characters behaved like normal people. Instead, the hooker wasn't even much of a victim. She hid behind some boxes and called out that she had condoms when the attacker threatened Felix with rape. Then she ran away with her attacker. You see what I mean by the tone being ridiculous? This whole thing with Felix exposing his secret powers is serious. There are deadly consequences afterwards, but the events that lead to that reveal is just so stupid. These characters are too cartoon-ish. They're silly caricatures and I can't bring myself to care about them.

BTW, I find it very offensive that Klune keeps using the word rape to describe Felix being bombarded with power/knowledge/whatever: "...the screaming of the world raped my ears as it burns" or "...the revulsion of what I was capable of raping my head..." My mind stutters whenever I come across sentences like these, and if I weren't a Klune fan before reading this book, I would've sworn off this author for it.

And another thing... using Latin as the language of magic? Really? Isn't that just really lazy and cliche? I expected more from this author.

The two main characters are really unlikable; Seven much more so than Felix. The whole caveman routine could have been charming/cute, but Seven is just so over-the-top and cliche. The only thing I liked about him was his name. Everything else about him repulsed me, including his physical description. The words coming out of his mouth makes me either roll my eyes or cringe with embarrassment. It's as though he's suffering from an identity crisis. Sometimes he's an obnoxious neanderthal, sometimes he's an insecure little boy in the throes of first love... and all the while, he's supposed to be some kind of leader for this secret Elemental organization? The guy's a joke... and an asshole. All he says all day is "you belong to me," "I own you," "I can do whatever I want to you," "You better obey me," "you're mine"...etc etc. It's so boring. He's a boring character. I stopped reading het romances because of characters like this, and now they're in my m/m novels too? And in a Klune book no less.

Seven and Felix do nothing for me as a couple. They detract from the story rather than adding to it... even though the story is about them. I can't understand how or why they fell in love. I don't see what they see in each other. Half way through the book, I began wishing one of them would die so that the rest of the book could be saved. Whenever things start getting interesting, Felix and Seven would show up, make out for half an hour, then leave... and I'm left scratching my head wondering what the hell was the point of everything, and why am I still reading this book?

This novel was just a complete miss for me. Recently, I'd developed a craving for fantasy novels, and having just finished Ginn Hale's glorious Rifter series, I immediately jumped into Burn, expecting to be swept away yet again. Unfortunately, I found everything in this book paling in comparison. The world-building, the magic, the mythology, the characters, the plot, the romance... everything was just meh. Needless to say, I will not be picking up book two and three of this trilogy. ...more

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Oct 08, 2013 Mara rated it did not like it

Shelves: m-m, meh

I have nothing positive to say about this...I wanted to like it and I loved the cover, but it was all over the place and I didn't get sold on the romance. VERY RARELY will I buy a romance that is based around destiny, fate, reincarnation or individuals being promised to each other, and none of those tropes worked here. Both MCs grated on my nerves which did not help matters, and the plot was so over the top that I wasn't sure why things...frankly just kept getting weirder. Sometimes...these M/M ...more

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